Dorothy E. McClellan, 100

Former Arlington resident Dorothy E. McClellan, 100, died Jan. 19, 2009, in Helena, Mont. A memorial service was held Jan. 24, at Plymouth Congregational Church.

Dorothy Ellen Glover was born July 1, 1908, in Omaha to Guy and Anna Glover. Raised in Arlington, she was a graduate of the Arlington High School Class of 1925.

She married Clifford N. Decker in the 1930s, and had one daughter. They later divorced, and many years later, she married a former high school sweetheart, Merritt McClellan.

She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Music from Wayne State Teachers College. She began her career as a private instructor of piano and as an elementary music teacher, and lived and taught in Arlington following graduation. She moved to California, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Southern California, and taught for 27 years in the Los Angeles school district, teaching instruments, orchestra, chorus and general classroom music.

She loved to travel, and spent many summer vacations traveling extensively throughout the world, collecting native musical instruments and taking innumerable slides, which she enjoyed sharing with friends and family.

After retiring in 1974, she moved to Leisure World in Laguna Hills, Calif., where she was active in the Ebell Club, the Leisure World Chorale and Orchestra, and Leisure World String Ensemble. Due to declining health, she eventually moved to Helena to be closer to her daughter.

She loved people and made many long lasting friendships. She continued a “round robin” correspondence with college classmates from the 1920s for more than 50 years. She was sought after as a person who could bring humor and levity to any social occasion.

As an elementary school teacher, she was beloved by her students and kept in touch with some of them for decades. She also had a special fondness for dogs and cats, whether her own or others.

She was honored many times for her generous spirit and donations of time and money. She had endowed a music scholarship at Wayne State; the endowment continues to this day.

She was a member of the Arlington Education Foundation Hall of Fame.

Music and teaching were the twin interests of her professional life. Commencing piano lessons at age 7, she began playing in church at 13 for traveling revival meetings. She continued to play at church, in some capacity, for 80 years, stepping down for good at the age of 93.

She is survived by her daughter, Leatrice Lily of Helena; stepdaughter and spouse, Mary and George Graves of Alexandria, Ind.; two stepchildren; and five step-grandchildren.

Memorials are suggested to the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary (for disabled animals) in Ovando, or the Lewis and Clark Humane Society in Helena.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~